Do you trust people in charge to keep their promises?
Many of you will have heard of the famous?Marshmallow Experiment ?led by renowned psychologist Walter Mischel almost 50 years ago. A kid around four or five years old sits at a table staring down at a single marshmallow. The researcher explains they are going to leave the room, but before they do so, the child is offered a sweet deal; if they don’t eat the marshmallow in their absence, they get two.
Where we got it wrong…
For decades, the experiment was highly regarded as a test of?delayed gratification and a diagnostic of self-control. However, there was a key ingredient often missing in the interpretations of the experiment:?trust.??
Let’s Rethink that!?
Turns out, the Marshmallow Experiment was also a test of?trust in authority.?
One of the most significant factors was trust in the administrator of the test. If the researcher was someone they were extremely familiar with and trusted, like a parent or teacher, they were?far?more likely to hold out. Trust in future promises allows us to hold out delayed gratification over immediate rewards.?
Your Rethink moment:
To create a trusting relationship, the person in charge must keep their promises and follow through. To nurture a trusting environment, we must do this over and over again. Remember, our ability to wait for a reward depends on trust in the environment surrounding us and the people in charge.?
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Warmly,
?
IT Executive and Consultant specializing in transformations and remediation challenged strategy implementations.
6 个月In the professional world, trust and personal integrity have a strong correlation - hence the concept of a bribe and the saying everything has a price. I may be jaded, but have seen too many times, where promises are not kept by people in charge when there is a price. Previously, I used to classify this in the unknown-unknown quadrant of the Rumsfeld matrix, and now it has moved to the known unknown in organizations where power play is their culture, and unknown-knowns when vendors play a disproportionate role in the enterprise decision making.
This may also explain why today we want all soon. We have poor trust in future! ???? as always Rachel Botsman
Leadership & Productivity Coach ? Corporate Trainer ? Follow me for actionable management and productivity content. ? Win-back time. ? Unlock new levels of focus, leadership and mastery.
7 个月What an important element to highlight in the famous Marshmallow Experiment!
So true, Rachel!